Science has finally confirmed what I already knew to be true: the bloody mary is one tasty beverage.

And, there appears to be a scientific explanation for the deliciousness. An article on NPR’s Shots Health blog details one scientist and his work with the famous concoction that combines tomato and lime juices with Worcestershire sauce and spicy hot sauce:

"Each of those ingredients has tens of compounds, if not hundreds of compounds," Neil Da Costa, an analytic chemist working for International Flavors and Fragrances, tells Shots. "The bloody mary has been called the world's most complex cocktail."

He should know. Da Costa has used every trick in the chemist's book to analyze each ingredient, and the cocktail as whole. He presented his findings at a meeting of the American Chemical Society this week. Da Costas, an expert in food flavors, is chairman-elect of the group's agriculture and food chemistry division.

The article even goes so far as to break down the drink – diagramming its various flavors and the refreshing timeline they create for those lucky enough to partake: